Qin Feng lounged a bit longer in his room, playing with his phone. The entities provided him with enough entertainment on the phone, such as YouTube, Netflix, and Spotify. However, he was limited to a provided messaging app, but he could freely browse the internet.
It was really interesting for the company that prevents education and learning to provide access to a powerful database of information. So Qin Feng assumed that the second rule isn't as black and white. And assuming that, it could also mean the other two rules are the same.
When Qin Feng tries to understand the meaning behind these 3 rules, he starts to feel nauseous. He felt a tingling sensation at the back of his neck, and by the time he realised what was going on, he collapsed, unconscious.
When Qin Feng woke up, it was already the next day. The sun was rising, and the early morning breeze woke him up. Because he was unconscious and not asleep, his body didn't feel refreshed; he felt a lot more tired and listless. But because he had an appointment today, he ignored the feeling and went to the bathroom.
As he stood up, he noticed a notification on his phone.
It said that because he broke one rule, they took a book from the bookshelf. It was a self-help book that Qin Feng had no interest in reading. Its disappearance was like a small rock being thrown into the ocean. It caused no ripple or massive change. So unimportant that it's not even an annoyance.
Qin Feng hummed and placed the phone back down. He went to the bathroom and took a shower. And since he decided not to do his work today, he picked a relatively simple t-shirt that has a picture of a dragon and the words "Lorem Ipsum Dolor Sit" plastered below it. When Qin Feng first saw it, he raised a brow, but found it cute and funny. It has now become his favourite shirt out of all the ones given to him.
After dressing, he picked up the phone he had set aside. It was only 5:38 AM, and barely anyone would be awake at this hour. Thinking he still had time to lounge and read some online web novels, he lay back down.
About 10 minutes passed, Qin Feng's phone vibrated, and he received a notification from the map installed. Someone higher-up set up pinpoints on the map for where to find the pink demon, Cassandra, the locations for the cafeteria, utilities, and other miscellaneous locations. One notable location was called "The Kindergarten".
It was located near the boss's office and was the only one that didn't fit the vibe of the company. Thinking about it, having a kindergarten in the company helps the employees with children, but the location seems a bit odd.
Qin Feng wanted to divulge the meaning behind this placement, but remembering what happened last night made him think twice.
He wondered if there would be a place where the rules would be blind to. Then again, these creatures notably have eyes everywhere.
Following the map, Qin Feng found the cafeteria.
Much like any other cafeteria, there were tables, chairs, and food. What's different was the entities inside. There were all the creatures he saw before: one-eyed flying creatures, pink demons, and pyramidical machines. The big cyclops weren't there; they were too big for the cafeteria, and Qin Feng didn't know where they could be.
Besides the aforementioned creatures, Qin Feng saw a couple of others. There was a little goblin walking around oddly, and a human tied up in a golden rope with a gag on his mouth.
Qin Feng was taken aback. This was the first time he saw a human like him in the company. He decided to walk towards him and ask some questions. Although he didn't know why this person was tied up, he still wanted to at least talk to them.
The "human" saw Qin Feng approach. He took a deep breath and started struggling. Some muffled groans and scraping could be heard as he moved, and the more he couldn't escape, the more violent his struggles were.
Seeing this, the little goblin walked towards him. "Pei! Why struggle so much? You're gonna hurt yourself."
As if he didn't hear the goblin, the "human" struggled further. The rope rubbed so much on the skin that it took some flesh off. The rope began to be soaked with blood, yet it was as if the "human" still couldn't feel anything. After some struggles, the gag on his mouth got loose, and he was able to speak.
"Mother!!" The "human" called out to Qin Feng.
Qin Feng already saw his struggles and ran to see if he could help. When he heard his call, Qin Feng stopped. If he remembers correctly, he was only 27 with a zero on top of "how many relationships you've been in". Let alone being a mother, he doesn't even have a partner.
The "human" hopped towards Qin Feng, but because he was tied up, he wobbled and fell. With tears running down his cheeks and longing in his eyes, he called out to Qin Feng again. "Mother, you've come back for me!"
The goblin looked at Qin Feng. "You look like a boy. How were you able to give birth to such a big child?"
The "human" answered for him. "Mother used the power of Law to make us! Mother is our creator and our purpose." The "human" continued to spit. "Mother is our god and our reason! Without Mother, we are nothing."
Qin Feng felt like he had learned something new. But separately he understood those words, yet together they were confusing.
After the whole kerfuffle, Qin Feng sat with the two creatures. The "human" who called him mother was named Punla. He sat close to Qin Feng, looking at him with admiration and dependence. He remained tied up but has now fully calmed down. The goblin left Punla with Qin Feng, telling him that he had some things he needed to do.
After breakfast, Qin Feng went to find the pink demon. Following him was Punla who refused to stay put. Qin Feng had taken the ropes off and let the guy loose, but he remained plastered on Qin Feng's back.
"I'm going to try and leave the company, if you wish to as well, come with me, if not stay." Qin Feng said to Punla.
Punlan stared at him and laughed. "You can't leave the company building." He pulled on Qin Feng's shirt and said. "There is no such thing as leaving." He looked down and added, "If you leave, you will die. Chaos had already devoured you."
Qin Feng knit his brows and thought. Punla knows a lot of things related to the E.N.D. or even more than just the E.N.D. The way he speaks makes Qin Feng wonder what else could be there. But as he did so, he felt a pain in his head.
Punla saw it and held his face. He placed a finger on Qin Feng's temples, massaging them in circular motion. As he does so, he mumbles a lullaby in a language Qin Feng didn't know about
As if by magic, the pain in Qin Feng's head disappeared and he felt a sort of clarity. "How did you do that?" He asked.
"I don't know. I just saw mother in pain, and I did what you usually do for me." Punla let go of Qin Feng's head and smiled.
The two arrived at an office cubicle. Several different creatures were walking around and working. There were those on a call and those in a meeting. Just a normal office, if you disregard how they look.
Cassandra was one of the creatures working. She was typing away on her computer, looking absolutely busy. But looking closer you'll see that she was playing a typing game. Everyone in E.N.D. don't understand how a company actually works, all they can do is mimic them. And yet they remain productive.
Cassandra notice the new arrival and paused her game. "Oh Little Fengfeng, what brings you here?"
"The boss told me to ask you about leaving the company premises." Qin Feng stated.
"Hmm. Little Feng, you're not allowed to leave the company premises." Cassandra said directly. "You can challenge the floors, but regarding leaving the company premises… All I can tell you is that it's absolutely impossible."
Qin Feng mulled over what she said. It's true that one of the rules were he is not allowed to leave, but the boss specifically said that he can try.
"What does it mean -" before he could finish his question, Qin Feng felt the pain again.
And as the most devoted follower, Punla massaged his head again. It seems that he really can't know or learn information. He wanted to, but couldn't.
He thought back to what the rules were and whether he could find a loophole for each. Every rule has a loophole, and Qin Feng just needs to find it.
"If you really wish to challenge the floors, I'll take you there," Cassandra said as she shrugged her shoulders. "You can gain some rewards from these floors that you can keep, but even if you challenge the floors, you can't leave."
Then what was the point? Qin Feng thought to himself. But even if there was no exit, Qin Feng wanted to try his luck. Maybe, along the way, he does find an exit and finally returns home.
Cassandra led the way to the floor challenges. In front of them was a simple double door that had the word "Floor 80" on it.
"This is as far as I can take you. I have some work to do, so good luck!" Then Cassandra ran away.
Qin Feng looked at her retreating figure and wondered why she ran so fast. Getting no answer to the question, he decided to open the double door.
On the other side of the door was a lounging area. There were sofas, chairs, coffee tables, and 3 portraits of people with no faces. Qin Feng looked at one of the portraits, and at the lower part of the frame was the word "Life". He looked at the other two and saw the words "Law" and "Limit". All pictures have a body, yet the face was missing.
Punla looked at the portrait of Life and stared at it. "She has no face. Even these creatures no longer remember her." Punla looked at Qin Feng and smiled.
Moments passed, and the double doors opened again. This time, a man in a blue hanfu entered. Seeing two people sitting, he walked towards them.
"Who is Qin Feng?" The man asked.
Qin Feng raised his hand. "I am."
The man smiled and nodded. "Good! I am Xu Yuhan, we talked yesterday."
"Yes." Qin Feng gestured towards Punla and introduced him. "This is Punla, and apparently, he is my child."
Xu Yuhan nodded. "I assumed we are of the same age. Apologies to the elder."
Xu Yuhan, a man of Jianghu, regarded Qin Feng as an elder who only looked young but was actually a thousand years old. Qin Feng, not knowing what he was thinking, ignored it. In the world of cultivation, after one enters the part, their facial features remain at the age they started. Take Xu Yuhan, for example, he looked to be about 22 years old, but in reality, he would be close to 500.
"I'm not that old, you can just call me brother or Feng." Qin Feng said. "I'm not very particular with seniorities."
Qin Feng grew up in a different time and in a different country. He grew up with different values and culture and has felt that seniority isn't important… usually it's money that is.
Xu Yuhan smiled. He liked Qin Feng's personality and was enlightened by what he said. He finds that Qin Feng's way of thinking is more in line with the heavenly dao. That one must not care about worldly cultures and see everything as just flowing water. Truly an elder worth respect!
"Hey, Yuhan, there was a thing you couldn't tell me about before." Qin Feng started asking. "What was it?"
Xu Yuhan finally remembered. "Yes!" He pulled out a notebook and showed it to Qin Feng.
On the notebook were writings, several crossed-out words, and drawings of different creatures.
"These were the information I got after reaching the third floor or floor 78. Multiple objects did not come from my world, such as this communication device." Xu Yuhan pulled out his own phone. "If my guess is correct, Brother Feng should be from a different world."
"I suppose so." Qin Feng hummed. "Does that me-"
Before Qin Feng could finish his sentence, Punla already had his fingers massaging his head.
Qin Feng sighed. It seems that he couldn't really ask questions or "Learn"…Wait, no, to be exact, it wasn't learning that was banned. Qin Feng thought back to what the phrasing of the rule was:
"The pursuit of knowledge, learning, or any form of education is strictly forbidden."
For most humans, they would understand this as "you cannot learn"; however, these creatures are not human. They seem to have a certain level of understanding of humans, but not the real complexities and imperfections that accompany it.
The real emphasis of the rule was on the "pursuit," not the learning itself. This means Qin Feng can learn about all these things, but he just can't actively chase them or ask questions. And he had already experienced it before when Punla spat out information to him. He didn't start feeling a headache then, but whenever he starts to ask, he gets a headache.
Qin Feng took a deep breath and said to Xu Yuhan. "The pursuit of knowledge, learning, or any form of education is strictly forbidden." He faintly smiled. "I cannot directly ask a question. If possible, can you just say what you know?"
This time, he wasn't asking what he knew; he was simply telling the other person to say what they knew.
Mr. Biologist Feng, a man of science and asking questions to understand what's happening in the world, felt really tired.